BACK TO NATURE

AGROWING DISEN- chantment with the inability of modern medicine to provide convincing answers to diseases like AIDS and cancer and its helplessness when it comes to dealing with the troubled mind has compelled an increasing number of people living in both the West and the East to turn to more esoteric, spiritual and natural methods of healing.

Naturopaths, who are qualified doctors, believe that nature cure "is fundamentally a philosophy of health and disease, of the wholeness and self-healing power of the human organism". In today's context, while the world reels from an overdose of allopathic drug formations, with their side-effects and after-effects, ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine, focuses equally on prevention as well as cure.

Baidyanath

VAID SHREE RAM NARAYAN Sharma, hailing from Kansli village in Rajasthan's Jaipur district, was not only an authority on ayurveda and a scholar of Sanskrit but also an ardent nationalist. He started his enterprise of manufacturing ayurvedic medicines about 65 years ago at the sacred place of Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar where he laid the foundation stone in 1918. During its heyday, his enterprise flourished and spread across oceans. Scholars from abroad used to flock to the universities of Taxila and Nalanda. Great teachers, efficient physicians and thinkers like Charaka and Shusruta prospered. Ayurveda had reached the summit of its glory.

After the advent of foreign rule in India, an attempt was made to westernise the Indian way of life and thinking in its entirety. As a result, the Indian system of medicine also suffered. The foreign bureaucracy in India blocked the progress of ayurveda. Despite all this, ayurveda, which is held in the highest esteem and veneration by a large section of the people, is testimony to the insight of sages who founded this Indian system of medicine.

Cultivating the age-old scientific system of medical treatment, Vaid Ram Narayan Sharma, the originator of Baidyanath Ayurveda Bhawan, held that the commercial aspect in the ayurvedic medicine business was an essential part of executing this ancient science as was the translation of its works in Hindi. He, therefore, wrote many books on ayurveda, on its principle and practices, so that the benefits of ayurveda as a protector of human health and life would be known to all, specially those who can just read and understand. He initiated an award of Rs 1 lakh to be given to any outstanding contribution to ayurveda.

Baidyanath Ayurveda Bhawan comprises 4,000 people all over India striving to ensure the most authentic quality of ayurveda in every. product. They have brought out 750 products in all.

Dabur

DABUR INDIA LIMITED IS AN-' other nature-products giant. The company is taking a leaf out of nature's book, so to speak. The humble pudina (mint) has been naturally endowed with properties which makes it a very effective remedy for stomach aches, gas and indigestion. It's anti-spasmodic, gas expelling and ? its stimulant properties work to-. gether to help digestion in a synergistic manner.

: Pudin Hara is a blend of mint oils which are obtained by the steam distillation of different varieties of mint and has a characteristic odour and taste. Thus, Pudin Hara has all the goodness of pudina, making it the ideal bodyguard to safeguard you and your lifestyle. With no side-effects whatsoever, it provides quick relief and a cool and soothing feeling in the system as you take it. For instance, stomach aches are usually caused by bad eating habits or overeating. Fatty acids that stimulate bile secretion worsen these aches further. Lasting from a few minutes to several hours, these aches are caused by spasms in the intestine. The efficacy of Pudin Hara has been established in studies at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.

Spirulina

THE MOST HIGH-PROFILE PROduct from Lucky Laboratories would be Sunova Spirulina. Sunova is the umbrella brand name for this company. Spirulina is said to have been the food of the gods in Greek mythology. Lucky Labs was initially Dabur India's personal-care products manufacturing unit. Later, it shifted towards the other end and started manufacturing nature-care products. The World Health Organ isation has voted Spirulina to be the most powerful food on earth.

Spirulina is a blue-green algae and is believed to be the first form of plant life on earth. Since its rediscovery in the '60s, Spirulina has been exhaustively and extensively tested by scientists around the world. It has proved to be the most powerful and well-balanced source of nutrition on the planet. Sunova products aim at bringing natural solutions to modern-day problems. The vision for Sunova is "to add life to life" naturally and, in the process, to become a Rs 100 crore brand by the year 2002.

Orchid

TO REST IN AN ASSURED MANner, in more ways than one, you have the Orchid Five Star Hotel in Mumbai. It is close to the domestic airport. The hotel has been certified by the Ecotel stamp. That means it is an eco-friendly hotel. The guests can participate in eco-friendly projects. The interactive TV system obliterates all use of paper in this hotel. Guests can order anything, from room service to toilet paper to renting a car, on this interactive system. This hotel is a step ahead in the hospitality business.

Sarkar is a self-made man. The multi-crore conglomerate that he has built has 300 field executives and 16 offices spread all over the country. This had begun as a humble laboratory in early 1969. Currently, the group is the only one with expertise in marketing of allopathic, homoeopathic and ayurvedic products.

The company's products are so well entrenched in the minds of the consumers, that a US company has taken up the rights to market them in the American market while conforming to FDA standards. This marketing company spread out in the US, Canada and Mexico is operating with 1.7 lakh distributors. The prestigious arrangement was only possible after the buyers were convinced about the standard followed in production and clinical trial taken up by them in USA. .The first consignment has already been despatched to US and products have been well appreciated.

The Livosin brand comes from the Jupiter Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a member of the Sarkar Group. It saves the user from constipation, loss of appetite, acidity and other stomach problems. Livosin protects the liver, the organ which takes care of the body's internal and external beauty.

Do You Like This Story? Awesome! Now share the story Too bad. Tell us what you didn't like in the comments